Entrepreneurs and startup companies in The Netherlands and across
Europe are being invited to submit their innovative business ideas to
the BMW Group in a unique challenge that could help shape the future
of global mobility and urban living.

BMW is challenging startups from all fields related to mobility
products or services to submit their pioneering technology, product or
service ideas for a competition that will offer a chance to become
part of a pool that buy billions of dollars’ worth of products and
services every year.

Held in conjunction with StartupFest Europe 2017, Europe’s
leading startup festival that takes place in The Netherlands from
September 25-28th, the BMW Startup Challenge will
offer a valuable opportunity for entrepreneurs to make their
innovations known to top venture capitalists, leading entrepreneurs
and strategic and financial decision makers from within the BMW Group.

All competition applicants will be screened by the BMW Startup
Garage, the team responsible for identifying startups for partnerships
with the BMW Group. Ten startups will be selected to present their
innovation to a high-profile jury made up of leading figures in the
startup world. Jurors will include Daan Roosegaarde, Dutch artist and
founder of Studio Roosegaarde; Evert Jaap Lugt, Managing Director of
YES!Delft; Menno Kleingeld, Managing Director of Enabling Transport
Solutions VDL Groep and Pieter Waasdorp, Director of Entrepreneurship
at the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

The top three startups, selected from those 10 finalists, will then
be invited to present their innovations to a live audience consisting
of international journalists and entrepreneurs in a special BMW
Startup Symposium in Amsterdam on September 26th.

All three will receive an all-expenses paid visit to BMW’s in-house
Startup Garage in Munich, Germany, where they will have the chance to
present their proposals in detail to BMW managers who are responsible
for buying products and services on behalf of the company.

The overall winner chosen from the top three startups will be awarded
the grand first prize: 12-month use of a new, special-edition BMW X1,
which will be built in the Netherlands.

“BMW Group consistently faces many innovation challenges for which it
doesn’t always have immediate in-house solutions, so we search
globally for the technologies that we need, particularly among the
innovators who are running startup companies,” said Neil Fiorentinos,
Managing Director of BMW Group Nederland.

“As BMW Group continues to strengthen its position as an innovation
leader and technology pioneer, this partnership with Europe’s leading
startup and innovation festival will provide the perfect platform for
pioneering and disruptive startup businesses to make their ideas known
to a powerful and influential group of decision-makers in the startup
business world,” he added.

"We firmly support technical innovations and new, clever
solutions to solve complex challenges for society such as mobility and
clean energy,” said Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, Special
Envoy StartupDelta. “Startups are the driving force in finding these
solutions, and the Netherlands is an excellent place for them to
thrive with our highly skilled and tech savvy population. During
StartupFest Europe 2017 startups, venture capitalists and corporates
meet and can make their solutions work. We are very pleased that BMW
has chosen StartupFest Europe 2017 as the center stage for their BMW
Startup Challenge and together we can shape the future."

Industry-leading structure to support high-potential startups.

BMW Group has a formal, industry-leading structure in place to
support high-potential startups in all phases from early stage
development through to late stage and delivery. This ecosystem fosters
initial ideas, taking them through to initial production and then on
to the creation of full supplier partnerships.

BMW’s business accelerator, venture capital and startup initiatives
are designed to find technological solutions at a time of convergence
of multiple social trends, which each have the potential to
dramatically change mobility and urban living, such as in the areas of
automated, connected, electrified and shared mobility.

BMW i Ventures is a venture capital company that
provides early and mid-stage investment in cutting-edge solutions
that are focussed on the mobility needs of the urban population. BMW
i Ventures invests in these solutions, focusing on BMW’s current and
future business in the technology and customer / service spaces.

BMW Startup Garage aims to help startups build
their automotive business by becoming their partner to help them put
their product or service into millions of cars. The Garage seeks out
startups with an innovative technology, product or service that can
significantly advance or even disrupt the motor industry. This
‘Venture Client’ partnership allows a startup to demonstrate the
value of its solution to the automotive industry by integrating it
first into BMW Group vehicles or mobility services and provides the
start-up with access to a network of engineers and managers within
the company.

URBAN-X is a startup accelerator for startups
reimagining city life, run by MINI
and the early stage investment fund Urban Us. Since its launch in
2016, URBAN-X has become a home for creative entrepreneurs from
around the globe who are improving cities through technology and
design. URBAN-X is not a mobility accelerator; the initiative goes
far beyond the car, covering core urban topics such as future
living, new solutions for water and food supply, and innovate
recycling systems.

What is unique about i Ventures, Startup Garage and URBAN-X is that
it offers both funding and a client relationship, and ultimately
allows startups to become part of the pool that buys billions of
products and services every year.